BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA
HISTORY
Boone county
contains two hundred sixty seven thousand five hundred and twenty acres
of good land. The county was organized in 1830, with a population of
six hundred and thirty. It was named in honor of Daniel Boone, the hero
of border life. The southeastern, western and northwestern portions of
the county are gently undulating. The other portions are level. The
soil, in most parts of the county, is a dark loam, deep and very rich.
It is remarkably well adapted to the production of all kinds of grain,
grasses and vegetables indigenous to the Northwest. Timber is plenty
and of the finest quality. Boone county is composed of the summit lands
dividing the waters of the Wabash and White rivers. This accounts,
probably, for the level, wet lands so common on almost all dividing
ridges. They are generally termed " summit levels," and are frequently
composed of many ponds and small lakes, with only occasional ridges of
high land. The county is watered by Eagle creek, White Lick and Walnut
Fork of Eel river, which empty into the former, and Big Raccoon and
Sugar creek, which empty into the latter. Owing to the level surface of
the comity where these streams have their source, they are sluggish and
comparatively of no value in the way of propelling machinery. " The
dense forests of heavy timber and low wet lands of Boone county, were
not sufficiently attractive to bring within its borders a class of men
of peculiar refinement and means, consequently it was first settled by
men of stout constitutions, iron wills, and but little financial
resources. It required a vast amount of labor and untiring effort to
clear away the heavy forests preparatory to raising crops. Many of the
early settlers cleared out a little "truck patch", sufficient to raise
some roasting ears, beans and other garden vegetables, after which they
applied themselves to hunting, fishing, etc. The settler who could
command a good rifle, two or three dogs, a cow, and one old horse, with
the means to buy powder and lead, was considered supremely happy. In
these early days there was abundance of wild game, deer, bear, wolves,
turkeys, pheasants and quails. The currency of the country was the
skins of deer, raccoons, mink and wild honey."
The county was
once the home and hunting grounds of a tribe of the Miamis; upon the
banks of the streams were the graves of their fathers. In these little
mounds lie the remains of many a native warrior and hunter. The site of
the present town of Thorntown was once the habitation of nearly five
hundred Indian and French traders. About the year 1838 most of the
tribe were removed from the reservation at this place, which was
purchased by the government in 1828. Thorntown, located in the
northwestern part of the county, was once a lively Indian trading post;
since that time it has become a lively place, with a civilized home
trade. Only a few years ago the county of Boone was a wilderness, so
densely covered with heavy timber and underbrush that the rays of the
sun were almost entirely cut off from the earth in the summer season.
Lonely and desolate must have been the feelings of those who first
traversed these woods, when naught but nature's uncultured sounds
greeted the ear, when the eye could see no heavens for the intervening
foliage, when serpents and lizards, frogs and hornets, and wild beasts
were possessors of the land. Forty years have wrought a mighty change
in the county. Then no cleared fields were visible from one neighbor's
to another; great lakes of water, backed up by huge trunks of fallen
trees, were visible on every hand; but now the lake has become a
fertile field; great farms have been opened; the eye can see for miles
over green or golden fields of corn. The cabin superseded the wigwam,
and the neat cottage has superseded the cabin in almost every locality
Lebanon, the county seat, is located near the centre of the county, in
a rich and productive section. It is a small town, but is thrifty and
rapidly improving. It has a population of about three thousand,
including a fine class of citizens, enterprising, intelligent and
prosperous. The town and county have good schools and school advantages.